Playing Your Part
The more I learn about the human body the more fascinated I am. It’s a complex system designed to work in harmony with all of its many parts. Each part is expertly planned to work together each with its own individual function.
As humans we get it stuck in our head that we are all meant to look and work the same way. That isn’t true, God designed each of us to function and move differently. Much like how He designed the ear and the kidney to work differently. The kidneys can’t hear because they weren’t equipped with that function, their wiring doesn’t work that way. Their function is to filter toxins and waste out of the blood stream, while the ear picks up sound waves from the air and sends it to the brain to translate it into sound. The kidneys may only be about the size of your fist but they serve an important purpose to the human body. Now being totally honest, I don’t often think about my kidneys. I can’t feel them beat like my heart or use them to smell the trash that I should have taken out yesterday. The kidneys aren’t often given enough credit, did you know they can filter almost 115 liters of blood a day. That’s equal to about 324 cans of soda.
They reason I love the kidneys so much, other than their contribution to keeping me alive, is I often view myself in the kidney role. I’ve often felt overlooked or underrated. I don’t see the bigger purpose behind my small part. My head knows what I do is important but my heart is tired and discouraged. I get swept up in the lies that because my role doesn’t look the same as everyone else it’s not as important.
Comparison likes for us to believe that what we do isn’t important. When we compare our talents and abilities to others we are robbing ourselves of peace. The more we measure ourselves to others, the more dissatisfied we become with ourselves. We start building in our head an unrealistic expectation that we can never live up to. We are all a part of a “body”. It doesn’t matter what kind of “body” you are contributing to, it could be a professional setting, a ministry setting, or even a school setting. Every part we play is important and it’s important we play it.
Much like how God designed the human body to work together towards the same goal, he designed humans to do just the same (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). God very intentionally designed us all to be different. It’s important to know and understand the role you play and how that fits in with others. Going back to the ear vs. kidney analogy, the ear can’t measure its worth based on the same standard the kidney lives up to. Although the ear isn’t considered vital it adds so much to our lives. Without it we couldn’t listen to music or hear laughter. The results the ear gets is going to be different from the results the kidneys get. Sometimes we have to readjust our measuring stick.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The more I dig into my own personal wiring the more I see my function stand out from others. It’s taken me a long time to accept that I’m not going to have the same trait as everyone else. I am going to look different. I am going to process things differently. I am going to have a different work style then others. That’s ok. This is how I am designed to function. It’s ok if that looks different from other people.
If you’re like me and often feel discouraged or like what you’re doing doesn’t matter, maybe you just have to readjust your focus and perspective. Sometimes it takes an honest soul check-in to see where you are.
Am I discouraged because I am putting unrealistic expectations on myself?
Am I feeling like I’m not good enough because I’m letting someone else define my worth?
Have I spent enough time letting God speak truth into my life?
Am I listening to what He is saying?
These are trying times and things look different than how they use to. For a lot of us our roles have changed or shifted. It’s easy to get discouraged and lose our perceptive. Have courage and know you aren’t alone in this, The God who gave our kidneys such an important role is excited to show you how much your role matters to him.